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Being selected as a subject-matter expert presenter at can be
high praise. However, you need to do well because your
reputation—and your company’s reputation—is on the line.

Whether you’re presenting in person or online, follow these steps
to keep your audience’s attention and avoid the far off,
unfocused sea of eyes in the room -- or worse, the people that
"slyly" duck out (yet everyone notices).

1. Start with a story. You have to open with a
bang. If you are able to grab your audience’s attention at the
get-go, you’re more likely to keep them interested the entire
time.

I once attended a session where the keynote speaker opened with a
heartwarming story about dating a woman who later became his wife
and learning to deal with her dog, who did not like him nor did
he like the dog. Through hilarious recollections of his
misadventures with this dog -- with whom he ultimately developed
a strong, loving bond until her passing -- he had me wanting to
both laugh and cry within five minutes of his presentation. And
then I was hooked.

Start with a story that lets the audience know you’re a person,
and relate this story to some main lesson learned that you hope
to draw from the presentation.

2. Involve your attendees. Get your audience
going with a sprinkling of engagement tactics, such as polls
(online or show of hands), direct questions (ID a member of the
audience or webcast) or even walking up to your audience and
being in their space for a moment. Even something as simple as
making eye contact with your attendees can encourage
participation.

3. Include multimedia elements in your
presentation. Words in a presentation are boring. People
came to see you (or logged in to hear you speak), so they don’t
want to read. Videos are one of my favorite tools. They’re highly
visual and can be emotionally entertaining. Plus, our brains
process visual information 60,000 times faster than text-based
information, so videos will help your audience retain
information.

4. Don’t make an unattractive presentation. This
might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many
underwhelming presentation designs I’ve seen. The best
presentations are free of clutter, include large and sparse text,
have ample amount of visuals and are short. Stick with palatable
colors that are crowd pleasing and save the bold, battery-powered
colors for accents and visuals. Also, always avoid the overuse of
slide animation -- it’s distracting, leads to errors in the
presentation and can be cheesy when used in excess.

5. Avoid last-minute prep work. Everyone should
run through at least several mock presentations before delivering
in front of a live audience. Choose a group of people you know to
be your test audience. If your attendees have registered for your
presentation, provide them with preparation materials beforehand
to establish a relationship.

For example, if you’re a lawyer and will be discussing
interesting cases in your presentation, send information to your
attendees in advance so they can be up to speed on the details.

6. Speak naturally. This should go without
saying, but it’s harder than you think. Try speaking to yourself
in an empty room without sounding like you’re reciting the
Declaration of Independence. When your conversation is mostly one
sided, it will be challenging to maintain a casual cadence to
your speech. People will find it easier to listen to and engage
with you when your speech is conversational.

7. Have passion. You can’t fool your attendees.
If you’re not passionate about the subject, they’ll know. This is
where you should shine: You can increase your visibility in your
career by being a memorable subject matter expert.

8. Encourage Q&A. If by the end of your
presentation, the audience is a little shy about asking
questions, it’s probably not you. It takes an icebreaker for the
audience to warm up a little. That’s why you should come prepared
with a few questions that you collect beforehand. Maybe you’ve
already spoken to someone who will be attending and have a
question or two you can call out from them. Ask a friend or
colleague to attend your session and act as an icebreaker if
needed.